Inferno burns Clarks Hill pallet company

Jan. 6, 2013

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Written by

Sophia Voravong & staff reports

Firefighters from 22 area department battle a blaze at the Industrial Pallet Corp., Saturday, January 5, 2012, near Clarks Hill. The fire was reported at about 8 p.m. Saturday night. / By Michael Heinz/Journal & Couri

The fire at 11349 U.S. 52 South was reported at 8:04 p.m., said Steve Butram, assistant chief of the Lafayette Fire Department. Tippecanoe County sheriff’s deputies were there within a minute and saw flames shooting through the roof.

The situation worsened quickly.

No injuries were reported.

Butram said every volunteer department from Tippecanoe and Clinton counties responded. The Lafayette department was on standby, but several Lafayette officers were on the scene.

The company makes wooden pallets and also turns pallets into mulch. The company is also known as American Fibertech Corp.

The fire was visible from at least as far away as Frankfort and Colfax. At 11 p.m., high flames were still visible. The location was near Indiana 28, not far from the Lincoln Lodge motel.

At 10:55 p.m., the Clarks Hill water tower was reported to be empty. Water was trucked in from several sources, including from the tower in Lafayette on Veterans Memorial Parkway.

Two aerial trucks — capable of pumping 1,000 gallons a minute — were on the scene, as were Red Cross and emergency management personnel.

Butram said the fire started well before 8 p.m. and had burned for several hours before anyone knew. He said it started in one of the older manufacturing buildings, one that lacked a sprinkler system.

The fire will burn for several days, Butram said. “Right now we’re just trying to keep that pile down. We’re in attack mode,” he said about 11:30 p.m.

With three sites in Indiana and one in Pennsylvania, Industrial Pallet Corp. is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of new and recycled wooden pallets from mixed hardwoods.

In 2011, it was reported that 120 of the company’s 311 employees worked at the Clarks Hill plant.

The most recent Hoover’s report on the company credits the company with $34.2 million in annual sales.

The company was founded in 1986 by Jon Schwab. By 1989, the company was reporting $11 million in annual sales.

In December, 2010, the Journal & Courier reported that Industrial Pallet was considering expansion of its Clarks Hill facility, envisioning a 54,000-square-foot building behind its existing facility on U.S. 52 near the intersection of Indiana 28.

Wood waste recycling has been a hallmark of the company. In 2009, Jay Wiegand, the company’s chief financial officer, said, “Industrial Pallet has always had a keen focus on environmental stewardship. We were green long before it became politically fashionable – first because we believe it is a stewardship issues, and second because it makes sound business sense.”

Within the Clarks Hill facility is a Rotochopper, a grinding machine used to produce mulch, biomass fuel, animal bedding and other wood fiber products. The machine can add color to mulch.

Industrial Pallet is the dominant supplier of colored much in Central Indiana.